101. 4 Sermon for Matins: 'Dawkins and The God Delusion'

Comment #36578 by mjwemdee on May 1, 2007 at 3:48 pm

And the response of Christians (and of poets and painters and musicians) is, time and again: 'If you don't talk in terms of spirit or of God, how well can you say you have understood or entered into the richness and complexity of the world?'

102. 4 Sermon for Matins: 'Dawkins and The God Delusion'

Comment #36577 by mjwemdee on May 1, 2007 at 3:42 pm

@ Comment 36555 by sims

Quite right! I spotted the evasion tactics too: 'let's use the nice Greek word and avoid the creepy-crawly Latin "supernatural"...maybe they'll not notice...'

Argument from Etymology...nice one

103. Are You There, God? It's Me, Hitchens

Comment #36254 by mjwemdee on April 30, 2007 at 4:30 pm

I suppose it's all subjective, but when people see RD as aloof/strident/agressive/rude/arrogant/fundamentalist etc etc I wonder where they get it from. I simply don't see it myself. If he seems aloof, might that be his tendency to cool judgement, as opposed to the heat of Hitchen's rhetoric?

104. Convention ends with Satan and immigrants

Comment #36247 by mjwemdee on April 30, 2007 at 3:54 pm

Plea from here on the other side of the Atlantic: what is going on over there???? Can anyone explain what the **** this 'convention' thought it was doing?

This reads like Lewis Carroll on coke...

105. Believe in God Spray

Comment #36242 by mjwemdee on April 30, 2007 at 3:43 pm

@ scottishgeologist #36236

Well I guess you could say these are 'mints with the ontological "hole"'

[Maybe only UK readers will get that...]

106. Mormonism: A Racket Becomes a Religion

Comment #35493 by mjwemdee on April 27, 2007 at 11:21 am

I always knew religion was daft; but I'm only just beginning to conceive how MONUMENTALLY daft it is...

107. Fighting Words: A wartime lexicon

Comment #34920 by mjwemdee on April 25, 2007 at 3:10 pm

Wow. That's it. I'm buying the book.

108. Jesus 'Love-Bombs' You

Comment #34908 by mjwemdee on April 25, 2007 at 2:38 pm

Comment #34889 by Quetzalcoatl

Ditto.

I have a sister who converted to born-again Christianity back in the 80's, round about the time I came out as gay. When she started to proslytize within the family, it soon became clear that she wasn't negotiable about her belief and I wasn't negotiable about my sexuality. I wonder if things had been otherwise, whether I would have been more vulnerable her kind of god-ridden poison? Hm....nah...as Lewis Black said: 'Problem is: I have THOUGHTS. And thoughts really screw up the faith thing....'

109. The God disunion: there is a place for faith in science, insists Winston

Comment #34899 by mjwemdee on April 25, 2007 at 2:18 pm

@ Bizarro

What claim are you referring to? That 'reasonable faith' is an oxymoron, or that Dawkins and Winston are like teddy-bears? Or something else that you've decided that I've written?

The first is clear to any intelligent person as the definition of reasonable is 'that which is agreeable to reason' http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reasonable
The second was, as indicated, a personal opinion.
I'll give you a C on this one. ;-)

110. The God disunion: there is a place for faith in science, insists Winston

Comment #34882 by mjwemdee on April 25, 2007 at 1:55 pm

Bizarro! How nice to have you back!
'Reasonable faith' ????? Oxymoron red alert. Not allowed. Go to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.

Re the article: Why are RD and his views typified as 'strident' when all the theists mean is they don't like to hear what he says? I've always found Dawkins' mode of expression to be measured, polite and fair-minded. To say that Winston is in contrast 'better known for his avuncular style' is like comparing one teddy-bear with another. The real difference is that the Dawkins teddy has something worthwhile to say.

111. Brian Lehrer interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #34618 by mjwemdee on April 24, 2007 at 5:40 pm

Yes, it's true, apparently. Doreen Virtue is away with the fairies!

112. Brian Lehrer interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #34519 by mjwemdee on April 24, 2007 at 10:32 am

Comment #34476

Thanks upsidedawn for ferreting out that website. I'll certainly be researching that further...

113. Brian Lehrer interviews Richard Dawkins

Comment #34445 by mjwemdee on April 24, 2007 at 5:14 am

A lovely interview. I hope the US has many similar opportunities to hear a civilised, unrushed interview with Dawkins.
I was fascinated to hear Brian Lehrer, in passing, note that second children are typically less likely to be obedient and accepting of their parents' wisdom than first children [and hence, presumably, less likely to pass on the religious meme]. Has there been any research on this?
(I only ask as my atheism has - if I think about it - always been part of my make-up, whereas my older sister is fully paid-up born-again Christian.)

114. Pope abolishes limbo

Comment #34220 by mjwemdee on April 23, 2007 at 2:29 pm

what a load of drivel. 'splende veritas' indeed!

115. 'God Is Not a Moderate'

Comment #33769 by mjwemdee on April 21, 2007 at 5:20 pm

@Harlon57 [Comment 33181] How terribly terribly sad for Andrew. But how brave he is to have put himself on the line for Sam Harris and to have written so cogently about subjective faith for so many months. In this sense, he is very atypical for a Catholic.

116. Street Evangelist Saves 300 Souls From Enjoying Park

Comment #33765 by mjwemdee on April 21, 2007 at 4:49 pm

Well I have to admit, the satire is pretty good (though the real thing is easily found in most cities, and almost beyond satirizing).
PEDANT'S CORNER - In fact, I read this rather late at night, with my satire-radar not fully functioning: only when I read that hilarious line 'Harlot, dare ye bare your shoulders...?' did I catch on. Of course, the line SHOULD read: 'Harlot, darest thou bare thy shoulders' - 'ye' being O.E. second person plural.

117. Coming out as atheist: Noel Gallagher & Gabriel Byrne

Comment #31732 by mjwemdee on April 14, 2007 at 3:07 am

Oh dear. He can't have read it very carefully if he thinks that TGD is something 'that disproves God'.

118. As Religious Strife Grows, Europe's Atheists Seize Pulpit

Comment #31730 by mjwemdee on April 14, 2007 at 3:02 am

I must say Monsieur Onfray and his 'ethical hedonism' sound rather fun. I am off to France this week and I shall certainly be buying and reading his books.
This article is a good panoramic summing-up of the struggle so far. There is something that rather brings tears to my eyes when you feel that you are part of a movement that is slowly but surely happening across continents. Whether, in the final analysis, these will be tears of joy or sorrow remains to be seen.

119. John Paul Sainthood Nun 'Gentle, Simple'

Comment #28505 by mjwemdee on March 29, 2007 at 1:09 pm

The stench of piety emanating from this article is making me nauseous.

Bleaaaagh!!!!

120. Across the Universe: A Guide to the Past, Present and Future of the Cosmos

Comment #28034 by mjwemdee on March 27, 2007 at 4:27 pm

The man is a great astronomer. And he plays a mean xylophone too.

121. Nigeria teacher dies 'over Koran'

Comment #27626 by mjwemdee on March 25, 2007 at 6:29 pm

goody...i'm rather partial to raisins.

122. God and His Gays

Comment #27618 by mjwemdee on March 25, 2007 at 5:16 pm

I'm curious to know where DavidJMH got all those zoological certitudes from? Where is his evidence?

123. Sex in the 1700s

Comment #27616 by mjwemdee on March 25, 2007 at 4:54 pm

I guess you're right. 'All human life is there' as one of the British broadsheets used to say...

124. Sex in the 1700s

Comment #27612 by mjwemdee on March 25, 2007 at 4:27 pm

Fascinating. But...er...why is this posted on THIS website?

125. Episcopal Church Rejects Demand for a 2nd Leadership

Comment #26975 by mjwemdee on March 22, 2007 at 5:26 pm

Yeah - and just think for a moment the money that is being squandered on this inane beanfeast: Archbishops and Primates flying all over the planet, from Canterbury and Lambeth Palace to Dar es Salaam to New York and Washington.

And all because they hate the gays but they have to work out a way of not being seen to hate the gays... obnoxious hypocrisy.

Note to drive1 (comment #26933):- I LOVED your scenario!

126. When Religion Steps on Science's Turf

Comment #26335 by mjwemdee on March 18, 2007 at 6:11 pm

Hi mark.breeze

Well, I certainly read your comment, and very interesting it was too. Didn't know much about the Scientologists. We sure have our work cut out.

127. UK Christians 'suffer for faith'

Comment #26331 by mjwemdee on March 18, 2007 at 5:48 pm

Aw - diddums. Are the nasty secularists saying hurtful things after nearly two thousand years of crusades, inquisitions, torturings, misogyny, bigotry, etc etc etc?

When the Christians are losing the battle to recruit, and religion is on the backfoot, it is then that they re-invent themselves as a cosy caring charitable institution, the sort of 'Church of the Holy Coffee-Morning' that you see portrayed in programmes such as BBC's execrable 'Heaven and Earth Show. But as AC Grayling points out: 'Elsewhere in the world, religious fundamentalists and fanatics incarcerate women, mutilate genitals, amputate hands, murder bomb and terrorise in the name of their faiths. It is a mistake to think that our own Western milk-and-water clerics would never conceive of doing likewise; it is not long in historical terms since Christian priests were burning people at the stake if they did not beilieve that wine turns to blood when a priest prays over it, and that the earth sits immovably at the universe's centre, or - more to the present point - since they were whipping people and slitting their noses and ears for having sex outside marriage, or preaching that masturbation is worse than rape because at least the latter can result in pregnancy. To this day adulterers are stoned to death in certain Muslim countries; if the priests were still on top in the once-Christian world, who can say it would be different?"

128. How my eyes were opened to the barbarity of Islam

Comment #24747 by mjwemdee on March 8, 2007 at 9:57 am

Comment #24735

You're right - some of the desperate apologists offering muddled refutations of her argument are quite unbelievable. I particularly like: 'well, the man probably needed a passport, and you gave him that.'

This is all dreadfully depressing stuff.

129. British Book Awards shortlists 2007

Comment #24741 by mjwemdee on March 8, 2007 at 9:28 am

Well, I thought this thread was starting out to be something we could celebrate, but the last few comments seem to have descended into reciprocal invective...

130. Daggers Drawn

Comment #24267 by mjwemdee on March 5, 2007 at 3:44 pm

Thankyou, great Teapot, for that enlightening thought.

And a big thankyou to Pastafarian for your comments. 'The Moral Maze' is one of my regular radio programmes and I usually get pretty fed up with some of the drivel I hear on it. But as you say, I guess we Brits should be grateful that the Beeb broadcasts this stuff at all.
Oh - and yes, counting the seconds to Dubya's departure...

131. Dawkins v. Collins Debate

Comment #23496 by mjwemdee on March 1, 2007 at 5:09 am

Dammit - Orion! You got there before me. I KNEW I couldn't be the only one to spot Bizarro's cavalier use of the oxymoron 'reasonable faith'. How can people debauch their own intelligence like this?

132. Researchers find 6,000-year-old fossil evidence

Comment #22427 by mjwemdee on February 17, 2007 at 5:59 am

Fantastic news.
I am curious to know how the museum curators at Liberty University in Virginia square THAT with their 6000-year-old dinosaur fossils...

133. Meet the Relatives. They're Full of Surprises.

Comment #21681 by mjwemdee on February 10, 2007 at 2:34 pm

linck (Comment #21672)

"What does image of the divine actually mean?
If Adam was truely an image of God it means God has a penis. For what does he need it? After whose image was Eve created?"

I presume you are inferring this from the old translation (King James Version) of Genesis 'Man was created in God's image'. Just thought I'd point out that this is an error frequently made by English-speakers. English is a fine language but in this context does not distinguish between man (a male person) and man (mankind in general) in the way that other languages do, as in German for example (Der Mann/Der Mensch). Consequently it could be argued that the writer (writers?) of Genesis had all of humanity in mind, including Eve.
This is of course purely semantic quibble. Everyone knows that Eve really came as an afterthought, don't they? ;-)

134. The questions science cannot answer

Comment #21604 by mjwemdee on February 10, 2007 at 5:10 am

I am struck by the difference in tone and intellectual quality between Alister McGrath's attacks and the current debate found in Andrew Sullivan's correspondence to Sam Harris.
Sullivan, though sorely let down by his own Catholic polemics, is at all times courteous, articulate and well-meaning, and never stoops to the appalling ad hominem attacks that McGrath permits himself.

135. 'Everyone Is Afraid to Criticize Islam': Interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Comment #20799 by mjwemdee on February 6, 2007 at 3:40 pm

Given her history and background, I find it incredible that not only is she as brave as she is, but also so articulate in her opinion. Remarkable too how she has made her mark in the politics of her adopted country.

A unique and wonderful person. The world needs more of her kind.

136. Believing In Things Unseen Is Not Delusion

Comment #20796 by mjwemdee on February 6, 2007 at 3:25 pm

what a long-winded, confused, boring diatribe.
I particularly like:
'I am prone to cleverness, and to glibness.'

Really..? I don't see much sign of it.

137. Interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson

Comment #20139 by mjwemdee on January 31, 2007 at 3:03 pm

Great fun. I just wish these sort of interviews on American channels weren't always so brief. I'm interested... is there anywhere on US public TV networks that enlightened programmes can be found?

138. No exemption from gay rights law

Comment #20130 by mjwemdee on January 31, 2007 at 2:45 pm

'I suspect that being Gay/lesbian/straight is only a matter of faith.' (The Great Teapot, Comment #19903)

What an extraordinary idea. No, sorry, I can't get my head round that one. And I'm speaking as a gay who's been on the planet for 54 years.

Although I do think there are similarities (as noted by Richard Dawkins) between atheists and gays as regards the experience of 'coming out'.

139. No exemption from gay rights law

Comment #19928 by mjwemdee on January 30, 2007 at 5:25 pm

Postscript to my earlier comment #19857

Forgot to add that in the same Radio 4 interview Ann Widdecombe also paid tribute to Pope Paul's generosity and open-mindedness in his apology for the Vatican's treatment of Galileo in 1633 - although she added that personally she didn't agree with 'people making apologies for something that happened hundreds of years ago'.

'Splendor veritatis' indeed!

140. Benny Hinn examined

Comment #19859 by mjwemdee on January 30, 2007 at 10:22 am

I find this truly shocking.


God help America.
(That's a joke, by the way)

141. No exemption from gay rights law

Comment #19857 by mjwemdee on January 30, 2007 at 10:06 am

To Comments #19822 Azven

This comment only makes sense if you think the word 'secular' means 'religious'. Is that the misunderstanding? The two words in fact mean precisely the opposite of each other.

As for the government decision: the final result is correct, but the 21-month breathing-space is a typical piece of Blair subterfuge. What good will the delay achieve?

By the way...did anyone in the UK catch Matthew Parris interviewing Ann Widdecombe on Radio 4's programme 'Great Lives' this afternoon? She chose the Polish Pope and recounted her 20-minute meeting with him ('the nearest I came to feeling God's presence') Some of the sycophantic Catholic drivel she came out with was unbelievable. I nearly threw up over the steering-wheel. When challenged on the various child/sex-scandals of the 1980's and 90's in the Catholic priesthood, her reply seemed to boil down to two ripostes:
a) in those days we didn't understand child abuse as we do now and
b) at the time, Pope Paul was getting old and sick and weak after surviving an assassination attempt, and therefore could deal with the matter effectively.
So that's all right then.

142. In defense of atheism

Comment #19374 by mjwemdee on January 26, 2007 at 5:28 pm

Thanks CDG.
You're right, I've now jumped off the metaphysical fence. The first port-of-call is going to be dealing with my born-again Christian sister. I'm afraid we are going to have a few head-to-heads in the near future.

Reading TGD is like coming up for air...

143. In defense of atheism

Comment #19369 by mjwemdee on January 26, 2007 at 4:00 pm

Sorry, I'm new to all this, and I'm also a Bear of Very Little Brain, but in the bad old days when I called myself an agnostic, I only did so because I was acutely aware that we can never absolutely disprove God, and therefore had to conclude that we can never truly know. Isn't that the literal meaning of agnosticism. Or was I an atheist all along? Or was I just a fence-sitter?

144. The Bright Revolution

Comment #19083 by mjwemdee on January 24, 2007 at 5:45 pm

While we're talking lexicon here... I'm somewhat dismayed how many of us unbelievers seem unable to spell 'atheist' properly.
'Athiest'???? [as in: athie, athier, athiest? I think not.]

a = 'without' [Greek α]
theos = 'god' [θίος]

As for the term 'bright' - hmmm. Not sure. Think it sounds a bit self-congratulatory to me.

145. 'God Is Not a Moderate'

Comment #18920 by mjwemdee on January 23, 2007 at 4:27 pm

@ Comment #18423

I do hope so: Andrew Sullivan is an enormously gifted and humane writer, and has also written eloquently about the gay experience in his book Virtually Normal, which takes on liberals conservatives and all colours in-between. It seems strange that someone of his intellect can be quite so wrong-headed in the matter of faith versus science.

146. Dispatches: Undercover Mosque

Comment #18525 by mjwemdee on January 21, 2007 at 2:06 pm

You are so right, robives. I found the Dispatches programme very unnerving. And then to see all that endless, fatuous crap about Jade Goody... what is happening in the UK? where is our sense of proportion?

147. God, Inc

Comment #18509 by mjwemdee on January 21, 2007 at 11:10 am

I agree with Ohnhai. This is fun, but too derivitive of Ricky Gervais' The Office...
'Mr Deity' scores far higher on satire and polemics with a much lighter touch.

Still - we mustn't discourage these people. Humour may yet save the world!